The Mask and the Manacle
by scottsman
Summary: A terrible new evil comes to LazyTown. Sportacus and Stephanie Join forces with a new masked hero to stop it. Meanwhile Sportacue wrestles with keeping a secret about Stephanie that could turn her world upside down.
1. Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter 1**

**_The Calm before the Storm_**

It was early in the evening in Lazytown and a blue suited figure could be seen jumping and flipping his way down the city streets and over the walls. All was well on the streets of Lazytown, or was it? Sportacus had not yet been able to put his finger on it. But for the last few days his intuition had been telling that it had been to long since something had happened, too long since he had stopped one of Robbie's underhanded schemes. Was this peacefulness just the calm before the storm?

_Dear Diary, I'm worried about Sportacus, "for the last few days he has seemed worried about something and he's not usually one to worry. I hope I can get him to talk about it soon._

_Stephanie_

Stephanie closed her diary and placed it on the night stand she turned out her light but she didn't go to sleep she just laid there in the dark. After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling she sat up again and propping her chin on her elbows she looked out over the darkened city streets.

She saw a group of men walking down the street.

"That's strange," she thought, "Who would be walking down this street this time of night?" just as they turned the corner one of the men stepped into the light from a street lamp and that is when Stephanie saw the big black X he had tattooed on his neck.

"Now I know something is wrong," Thought Stephanie, "Those men aren't from around here."

It only took a few seconds for Stephanie's curiosity to throw her better judgment out the window. Jumping out of bed and into her clothes she grabbed her flashlight and started down the road after the strange men. Stephanie was quick and agile and it did not take her long to catch up with them. She could now see that there were five of them and each one of them had a big black X on their neck. The men made there way to the old warehouse that was located behind the school.

They entered the warehouse and sat down at a card table. One of the men took out a deck and started dealing. Stephanie slipped into though a window and hid behind some boxes.

"This little burg will be perfect for the boss to hide out in," said on of the men as he picked up the hand of cards that had been dealt him, "These Yokels probably haven't even heard of Mr. X."

Stephanie stifled a gasp in the bigger city to the south that she had come from two years ago everyone knew of the shadowy madman who called himself Mr. X he was the worst criminal in the history of super-criminals. Stephanie new that she had to tell Sportacus what she had heard. She turned and slipped out the door. As she emerged from the warehouse she bumped into the trash cans and sent them clattering and clanging to the ground. Stephanie heard the sound of running footsteps and she knew that the men were after her she clambered over the cans and tried to run, but she wasn't quick enough.

A few seconds later she was grabbed several rough pairs of hands. One hand was clamped over her mouth.

"Well what have we here," said the biggest dirtiest man

"Some brat playing detective," snarled one of the men, "Better get rid of her she knows too much."

"Don't be such a dimwit, you dimwit," snapped the first man with an almost maniacal grin on his face, "She's pretty and the boss has a business just for pretty girls, he might even give us a bonus for her."

"I don't know," said the other one, "She's kinda young."

"HA," said the first man again, "that don't matter none to the boss." They all let out a course laugh and began to haul her back into the warehouse. Suddenly Stephanie kicked one of them in the groin and bit the hand over her mouth. The man who got kicked dropped to the ground moaning in pain and holding his groin. The other yelped and let go waving his hand around. Stephanie turned and bolted down the street when she rounded the corner of the building and came with in sight of the school she was grabbed and hit over the head and all was darkness.

Stephanie felt two hands reach into the darkness and grab her. She began to fight them with every ounce of strength that she possessed. Suddenly she hear a familiar accented voice,

"Stephanie, Stephanie," he called

"Sportacus," she called, "Sportacus!"

"Stephanie, I'm here," said the voice, "open your eyes!" Stephanie's eyes popped open and she found that she was lying in Sportacus' bed on the Airship and he was kneeling by the bed holding her hands. She took one look and Sportacus and broke down into tears,

"I was so scared," she sobbed. Sportacus put his arms around her and gently rocked her back and forth until she calmed down. When she opened her eyes and looked over Sportacus' shoulder she was stunned to see a tall man wearing a broad brimmed forest green felt hat, an overcoat of the same color, under the overcoat he had on a matching green body armor suit that looked like it was specially fitted to him. Around his waste he wore a belt with a green and silver buckle. His face was almost completely covered by the green mask that he wore. On the nose piece of the mask and the center of the belt buckler was a symbol that looked to Stephanie like a giant green bee. He stood at Sportacus' food counter calmly slicing up an apple.

"Sportacus, who's he?' asked Stephanie

"Stephanie," said Sportacus, "a very dangerous criminal called Mr. X has come to Lazytown."

"Then you know," said Stephanie. Sportacus nodded,

"I spotted those men you followed tonight a few hours before you did, I could tell by the X's on their necks that these men were Mr. X's inner circle. So I called in a good friend of mine, the one man that Mr. X fears." Sportacus turned and motioned to the stranger,

"Stephanie, meet The Green Hornet."

**TBC Please read and review**

**NEXT:** DARK ARRIVAL


	2. Chapter 2: Dark Arrival, The Evil One

**Chapter 2**

_The evil one_

The Green Hornet looked up and smiled at Stephanie, Walking around the table he approached Stephanie with a plate of apple slices.

"Would you like something to eat?" he asked holding the plate out to her. She took an apple slice and thanked him for it. They had barely finished their food when the message tube came flying in. the message was from Mayor Meanswell

_Sportacus, Stephanie is missing. Please come and help me find her!_

_Milford Meanswell_

"I had forgotten all about the mayor," said Sportacus, "Stephanie you' better get down there and pacify your uncle. Tell him that you're okay."

"What time is it?" Asked Stephanie

"8:30 in the morning," replied Sportacus, "you've been unconscious for almost 8 hours."

"Wow," Stephanie Gasped, "it's no wonder that my uncle is worried." Stephanie jumped to her feet and almost fell over when a wave of dizziness hit her. Sportacus grabbed her before she hit the floor. Sportacus stood up with Stephanie in his arms and walked toward the automatic platform. As soon as he stepped on to the platform he called out the command,

"Platform down." The platform lowered Sportacus and Stephanie until they were outside the airship. Then Sportacus called for the ladder and gently carried her down to the waiting arms of her Uncle Milford. The Mayor thanked Sportacus profusely.

Sportacus and the Green Hornet stood on the observation platform that doubled as the side door of the airship. They watch as Stephanie and her friends played soccer down below.

"Sportacus," said The Hornet, "I think I know you well enough to asked you this and get an honest answer."

"Of Course," said Sportacus, "you know that you can ask me anything."

The Hornet took a deep breath before continuing.

"Sportacus," said the Hornet, "Is Stephanie who I think she is?" Sportacus gave a visible start and every muscle in his body tense as though he expected to be punched in the stomach.

"What in the world would make you ask a strange question like that?" Sportacus Replied. The Hornet gave his friend a knowing look.

"I saw the way that you fought for her in the alley by the warehouse." Said the Hornet, "or have you forgotten that I had to pull you off of the gorilla that hit her before you killed him."

"I'll do anything to protect my friends," Said Sportacus defensively as he turned and walked back into the airship, "This has nothing to do with the crazy idea that you have."

"Besides," he added with a hint of sadness in his voice, "Where ever SHE is she's safer and better off without me." With that Sportacus turned and bounded down the ladder to join in the soccer game.

"What you said may be true my friend," said the Hornet as he watched Sportacus go, "But are you better off without her?"

Robbie Rotten stirred in his sleep and then suddenly his eyes popped open. There were three men standing over his chair. If Sportacus had been there he would have recognized two of the men from the warehouse last night. The third man was a tall imposing figure of a man. This third man was wearing a jet black trench coat and a black mask that covered everything but his eyes which were as dark and eerie as his presence. And his right arm was cover in a metal exo-skeleton. The man reached out with this arm and grabbed by Robbie by the throat.

"Well, Well, Well," he said in an oily menacing voice, "If it isn't my idiot nephew!"

"Uncle X," wheezed Robbie, "What a pleasant surprise,"

"Don't try to butter me up!" Mr. X Thundered as he lifted Robbie off the ground and held him suspended in mid-air. "I send you here to take over this little wisp of a town and you can't even do that without fouling up!" with that X side-armed Robbie across the room.

"It's not my fault," whined Robbie, "it's that Blue Elf Sportacus he always wins."

"Don't hand me some excuse about a blue suited acrobat," Snapped Mr. X, "If I can outsmart the Green Hornet then you can surely outsmart this Sportacus."

"But aren't you in hiding because of that guy?" Said Robbie

"SHUT UP!" Thundered X

Two figures a green one and a blue one could be seen moving though the Lazytown night. One was moving along the roof tops with the grace of a cat and the other was jumping walls and turned a myriad of flips and handsprings. Finally they came to a stop below the airship.

"Did you explain things to the Mayor?" asked the Hornet

"Yes," Replied Sportacus, "Stephanie is going to spend the night in the airship with is just to be safe." With that Sportacus turned and called out,

"ladder." Then he stopped and looked around as the Hornet began to climb the ladder,

"I don't like it," he said, "Why hasn't X tried to stir things up yet?"

"Well," said the Hornet pausing on the ladder, "For one thing he probably doesn't even know that I'm here. Now if he knew then we would cause trouble."

"But won't those men we sacked in the alley tell him that you're here?" Sportacus asked

"They probably didn't get the chance," Replied the Hornet

"You mean," Sportacus stopped and made a slashing motion across his throat,

"Yeah," said the Hornet, "X doesn't like his men stirring things up unless he tells them to."

"Well if that's the case then Stephanie should be out of danger," said Sportacus

"Maybe," said the Hornet as he resumed climbing the ladder, "if nothing happens at the Mayors house tonight then we'll know for sure that X had those men eliminated before they could tell him what they knew."

Four hours later… The Green Hornet stirred opened his eyes. Propping himself up on his elbow in the dark he looked toward the back of the airship. Stephanie was sleeping in Sportacus' bed and he was sleeping on a thin mat on the floor next to bed. The temperature was more or less pleasant so he wasn't using a blanket.

Stephanie stirred and opened her eyes she peeked over the edge of the bed and smiled at the sleeping for of the above-average hero. She suddenly sat up and climbed out of the bed. Grabbing the white bed-spread and laid it over Sportacus then, looking very satisfied with herself, she lay down again and was fast asleep in a matter of minutes. As the hornet watched Sportacus began to wake up, immediately he became aware of the blanket that was over him. Rising to his feet he smiled down at Stephanie who was fast asleep on the bed. Tenderly he laid the bedspread back across Stephanie, then he lay down and went back to sleep.

"_I never saw two friends more devoted to each other,"_ thought the Hornet as he lay back down again. He was almost asleep when he heard a rustle looking up again he saw that Stephanie had awakened again and was obviously most perturbed to find the bedspread over her again. Immediately she got up and put the spread back over Sportacus.

"_This is going to go on all night," _thought the Hornet as he stifled a chuckle. Sure enough a few minutes later Sportacus awakened to find himself covered in the bed-spread yet again, and immediately he stood up and put the spread back on Stephanie. And for the second time he lay down and went to sleep. The Second time Stephanie woke up with the blanket on her she just smiled. Then she climbed out of the bed and lay down on the mat next to Sportacus spreading the bedspread over both of them. Finally she drifted off to sleep with her head resting on his shoulder.

But at that moment as Stephanie slept peacefully next to Sportacus there was a phone call taking place.

"No I'm not going to let you keep putting it off," said Milford to his sister, "This is something that you've got to handle, it's not my place. You should have told Stephanie years ago."

"What do you mean what, Susie," snapped Milford, "You know what I mean. It's time for you to tell Stephanie who she really is!"

_**TBC Please Read and REVIEW**_

_**NEXT: PIECES OF THE PUZZLE.**_

**A\N feedback is welcome and that includes _constructive _criticism, I sincerely value your opinion. **


	3. Chapter 3: Pieces of the Puzzle

**Chapter 3**

_**Pieces of the puzzle**_

Sportacus stirred and opened his eyes. He immediately became aware of a weight of his shoulder. He moved slightly and looked at his right shoulder. A gentle smile came over his face at the sight of the girl laying there next to him. Moving her head slightly he laid it gently on his pillow. Stephanie opened her eyes the second her head touched the pillow.

"Good Morning Sportacus," she said smiling up at him.

"Good Morning Stephanie," said Sportacus, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Fruit will be just fine," replied Stephanie. Stephanie looked around the airship as Sportacus prepared breakfast.

"Hey Sportacus," she said, "Where's the Hornet?"

"Probably out trying to figure out where X is hiding." replied Sportacus.

Later that Day Stephanie walked down the hall of the courthouse looking for her uncle- she had been told by Bessie that he was there. Suddenly Stephanie heard rustling in one of the rooms. Slowly she moved toward the door. She peaked around the narrowly open door expecting to see one of those men from last night. Instead she saw a tall brown haired boy who looked to be about 18 years-old; he was standing in front of an open file cabinet drawer and was leafing through the files. Suddenly he seemed to find what he was looking for. He took a piece of paper out of the file, replaced the file and shut the drawer. Then he looked up and saw Stephanie looking around the door at him.

"Hi," he said with a smile.

"Hello," said Stephanie she moved around the door until her body and her neck were all in a straight line again.

"What are you doing?" she blurted out. The man smiled.

"I was just hunting up a land deed for the Mayor. He needed to see it before he could give the O.K. for me to open up a branch office for my father's newspaper here. By the way my name is Brett Reid."

"I'm Stephanie," Stephanie replied, "and it is probably a good idea that you came and got that yourself. My uncle is a good man but at the rate he gets things done it could be ten o'clock next summer before he ever got over here."

Brett smiled. That's when it struck Stephanie. There was something very familiar about his smile and his mannerisms. She was almost positive that she had seem them somewhere before. Brett's voice brought her back to reality.

"I'd better get going," he said, "it was nice to meet you." With that and a wave he headed out the door. Stephanie was about to follow him were she caught sight of a certificate. That was lying out on the table by the window. She walked over to it and discovered that it was her birth certificate. She picked it up and looked at it when the light passed through the paper saw the water mark in the paper grain itself. The water mark consisted of the words: RAINBOW PAPER. Stephanie stopped short when she saw the dates on the paper and ice began to fill her lungs,

"Rainbow paper," she said, "Rainbow paper didn't even exist until nearly a year after I was born!"

Stephanie walked down the hall with a dazed look on her face. Her mind raced over a thousand different possible explanations for what she had discovered. She didn't even notice that she was in the lobby until she bumped squarely into Brett.

"Careful there little miss," said Brett with a smile

"Sorry," apologized Stephanie, "I had my mind on something else."

"Well, Well," said a sneering voice, "If it isn't the pink cheerleader."

"What do you want Robbie?" Stephanie snarled Brett looked at Stephanie who was still glaring at Robbie.

"Stephanie," he said Jabbing a thumb in Robbie's direction, "do you know this piece of cheese?"

"Listen Junior," growled Robbie, "I just came to warn you, if you try to build that newspaper hear you might just meet with an accident." Brett returned Robbie's without flinching.

"Do you know what I think of threats?" snarled Brett.

"Please do tell." Robbie Sneered. Brett gave a little smirk and grabbed Robbie by the collar and the belt. Then with one fluid motion he lifted Robbie off the ground and plopped him head first into the huge yellow trash can that the janitor was pushing by." Robbie's legs flailed madly as the janitor grinned wheeled him away. Stephanie burst into a fit of giggles.

"You'll pay for this," snarled Robbie in a very muffled voice

"Oh blow it out your ear," snapped Brett, "Just be glad I didn't put you in the wet garbage!"

A few seconds later Robbie came sliding out of the Garbage chute to land right at X's feet.

"You idiot," snarled X, "you can't even make at threat without getting knocked on your butt!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that Brett Reid was that strong?" Robbie Whimpered. X Rolled his eyes as grabbed Robbie but the scruff of the neck.

"Let's go Hopeless."

Meanwhile…

Sportacus had arrived just in time to see Robbie being wheeled away with the rest of the garbage.

"Sportacus," said Stephanie this is Brett Reid, "He's going to open a newspaper in Lazytown."

"That's great," said Sportacus. He and Brett shook hands.

"Actually," said Brett, "it's a branch of the Daily Sentinel my Father's newspaper."

"I'm going over to Pixel's," said Stephanie abruptly.

"Okay," said Sportacus "see you later for some soccer."

"Right," said Stephanie and with that she was out the door.

As soon as Stephanie was out of ear shot Sportacus leaned over to Brett.

"What are you doing?" he whispered

"Well," replied Brett, "X doesn't know who the Hornet is, but he does know that wherever Brett Reid and the Daily Sentinel are the Hornet won't be far behind."

"I get it," said Sportacus, "The old stir the pot and see what floats to the top approach."

Brett nodded and flashed the hornet seal under his jacket.

"Exactly," he said

Stephanie; however, didn't go straight to Pixel's, she first went back to her room to hide the birth certificate that she had found intending to interrogate her uncle about it later. Looking around for a hiding place she finally decided on the bottom drawer of her desk. She grabbed the handle to pull the door open and it twisted sideways in her hand. A small secret compartment in the top of the desk opened. When she looked inside she found envelope with old letter addressed to her Father. She opened it and read:

_Dear Ian,_

_I need not tell you of the circumstances that I am now in I know that the evil one will not stop until my whole family is torn from me. You have been a trusted friend to me through thick and thin, you have stood by me when my other friends deserted me. It is because of this trust that I now must ask of you the greatest favor of all. I give you my Crown of Victory to care for as your own. I go to fight the evil one and perhaps, one day when the evil one no longer plagues my family I will be reunited with my Crown of Victory. I thank you with all my heart._

_Your Friend,_

_Torben S._

"_Is my father hiding a special crown?"_ thought Stephanie as she finished reading the letter. Just then she heard the front door open and she knew that her uncle was home. Quickly she grabbed the envelope to put the letter away, as she did something fell out of it and into her hand. It was a crystal and as soon as it touched her hands it began to glow softly. Softer than the glow was Stephanie's voice as she whispered.

"Who Am I?"

TBC Please Read and Review, Thanks.

A\N: Please feel Free to contribute ideas for this story cause who knows I might use them.


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